Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a molecular signaling pathway that drives the growth and maturation of young human beta cells — the insulin-producing cell type in the pancreas that malfunctions in diabetes — in mice and humans. The pathway, called the Cn/NFAT pathway, has been shown to be important in the growth and development of many cell types, including immune cells and neurons. But this is the first time it’s been shown to be involved in the development of human beta cells.